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This Makes Me Happy, Part 2

In most countries it is common practice to speak the language of all bordering countries... our country is too self righteous to do that for some reason.
 
The-Joker said:
In most countries it is common practice to speak the language of all bordering countries... our country is too self righteous to do that for some reason.
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Not in europe. I knew very few Germans who spoke Dutch or Polish or French. A friend who spent 2 years in France told me the same thing about the French, although more of them could understand Spanish or Portugese, but mostly due to similaritites of the languages.

In fact I would wager more of them speak English than any other "neighboring" language.
 
LogGrad98 said:
Not in europe. I knew very few Germans who spoke Dutch or Polish or French. A friend who spent 2 years in France told me the same thing about the French, although more of them could understand Spanish or Portugese, but mostly due to similaritites of the languages.

In fact I would wager more of them speak English than any other "neighboring" language.
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I'm really speaking out of my *** today... I meant that most people in these countries share a common language (usually english or some latin based) with those on the border.
 
bat said:
Racism gives me a boner too.
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Exactly how is this racism? He did not demean the Mexicans or foreign people in any way. He simply said that since we are in America, and even though English is not our "official" language, it is what most of us speak, and that this man should be speaking in English. Actually, I think it hurts the immigrants cause having somebody speaking to a committee that needs a translator.

Needless to say, I agree with the good senator from Texas. Flame on.
 
Nate505 said:
The Senator comes off like a hick jackass. Languages are hard to learn for some.
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If you lived in a foreign country for 23 years, I'm pretty sure you would be able to speak it fairly well. Personally, we have workers that are here for 4-5 months out of the year from Mexico (legally through the government, don't worry), and after a couple years they have the ability to speak English fairly well, not fluently, but pretty dang well. If they had been living here for 23 years, I can guarantee you that they would be fluent in English.
 
When I went on my mission, nobody thought it was okay for me to speak English after I'd been there only a couple months. In my opinion, if you're going to live in a country, learn the freaking language. Anybody who puts in half an effort will pick up enough to at least be passable after a couple years.
I do agree that it probably doesn't help the immigrant's cause that he had to speak through an interpreter.
 
catratcho said:
When I went on my mission, nobody thought it was okay for me to speak English after I'd been there only a couple months. In my opinion, if you're going to live in a country, learn the freaking language. Anybody who puts in half an effort will pick up enough to at least be passable after a couple years.
I do agree that it probably doesn't help the immigrant's cause that he had to speak through an interpreter.
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This.

I met a man in Germany who was from Greece. He spoke english better than he spoke german (of course I speak no greek....it's greek to me...heh? heh? oh nevermind). But he insisted on speaking German. When we told him he could speak english to us he kept saying "I live germany, I speak germany". He had been there for 15 years at that time. His german was terrible, but he kept trying.

At least make the freaking effort.
 
Hantlers said:
If you lived in a foreign country for 23 years, I'm pretty sure you would be able to speak it fairly well. Personally, we have workers that are here for 4-5 months out of the year from Mexico (legally through the government, don't worry), and after a couple years they have the ability to speak English fairly well, not fluently, but pretty dang well. If they had been living here for 23 years, I can guarantee you that they would be fluent in English.
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I have no idea if I could or not. I highly doubt if I lived in China I could speak Chinese fairly well. I struggled to get past the two semesters of German I had to take to get my degree.

And if I were to address the Chinese government, I would far prefer to speak in English than Chinese, even if I had spent a ton of time there.
 
Nate505 said:
I have no idea if I could or not. I highly doubt if I lived in China I could speak Chinese fairly well. I struggled to get past the two semesters of German I had to take to get my degree.

And if I were to address the Chinese government, I would far prefer to speak in English than Chinese, even if I had spent a ton of time there.
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Living in a country and immersing yourself in the language is entirely different than taking two semesters of the language in school. I took Spanish for 5 years and couldn't say more than just a few phrases, which were probably incorrect and with a very bad accent. After 1 year on my mission, I could conceivably pass for a native speaker (and did with more than one person while talking on the phone).
 
catratcho said:
Living in a country and immersing yourself in the language is entirely different than taking two semesters of the language in school. I took Spanish for 5 years and couldn't say more than just a few phrases, which were probably incorrect and with a very bad accent. After 1 year on my mission, I could conceivably pass for a native speaker (and did with more than one person while talking on the phone).
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But if all you did was hang out with other Americans, patronize only English speaking establishments and otherwise ignore the culture of the country you were in you wouldn't need to learn Spanish. That's exactly what many of the Mexican immigrants do. They have such a strong support system in the US, including the US government and US businesses dying for their pes, er, dollars that they have no need to learn even a speck of English.
 
catratcho said:
Living in a country and immersing yourself in the language is entirely different than taking two semesters of the language in school. I took Spanish for 5 years and couldn't say more than just a few phrases, which were probably incorrect and with a very bad accent. After 1 year on my mission, I could conceivably pass for a native speaker (and did with more than one person while talking on the phone).
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Maybe. The difference of the language is so stunning that I'm not sure if I could, but I'm sure there is a mechanism that would allow you to in time.

That being said, according to this article the guy could speak some English, maybe even a fair amount of it. But since he was speaking in front of a fairly significant governmental body (I've never spoken to my state Senate) he felt more comfortable speaking in Spanish as he felt he could convey his thoughts better. He brought his own translator, so I really don't see the big issue there.
 
Both Marcus and Nate bring up good points here:
In my experience, most Hispanics that I've come across know more English than they want you to think. I've even known some who I would consider almost fluent but didn't like to use it because he liked to lean on the excuse of not being able to speak it. He felt he could get away with more crap that way.
There's no doubt that I would have felt more comfortable speaking English a lot of the time on my mission. But that wouldn't have helped my cause. My point was that this guy using a translator didn't help him, IMO.
 
I agree with the Senator. You have lived in the US for 23 years. It is time to be a big boy and speak the language that the majority speaks. If I were in a place like Mexico for 23 years I would be fluent in Spanish. I would also address any Mexican government official with Spanish.
 
catratcho said:
After 1 year on my mission, I could conceivably pass for a native speaker (and did with more than one person while talking on the phone).
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That's because the Lord was blessing you. BTW, Marcus likes the Lord, too... mainly because he gave this country to white Americans.

Marcus said:
But if all you did was hang out with other Americans, patronize only English speaking establishments and otherwise ignore the culture of the country you were in you wouldn't need to learn Spanish. That's exactly what many of the Mexican immigrants do. They have such a strong support system in the US, including the US government and US businesses dying for their pes, er, dollars that they have no need to learn even a speck of English.
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Marcus, what IS American culture? Where is American culture? How do you participate in it if you are relatively cash starved?

Once again, Marcus proving himself to be a complete and utter tard. I'm glad you've found a modicum of comfort after not pushing your mind very hard... such luck shouldn't be taken for granted (thus your Love for the Lord).

//edited by moderator for inappropriate sexual reference//
 
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